Tripura Durga Puja

Fresh bomb recovery mars puja spirit in Tripura
AGARTALA, Oct 5 – A fresh bomb scare gripped Agartala as personnel of National Security Guards (NSG) and State’s bomb squad on Sunday defused a live bomb with high explosive potential at a temple near Radhanagar in northern part of the capital town.

An electronic detonator, mobile set with SIM card, battery and high power explosive were also recovered. These seized materials could give vital clues in identifying the people behind the serial blasts.

According to police, the bomb, kept in a plastic bag, was found lying in a drain near the temple since Saturday night. Based on the information, a strong contingent of police along with a bomb squad and forensic experts rushed to the spot on Sunday morning . Two experts from NSG also rushed there.

“Personnel of NSG and bomb squad have jointly defused the bomb”, said KV Srijesh, Superintendent of Police, West Tripura district. “The recovered SIM card could lead to vital clues to the identity of culprits behind the serial blasts”, he said.

Investigation has been initiated to examine the ingredients used in making the bomb with high explosive potential, he said. Experts have found similarity in ingredients used in the other explosions in Agartala on October 1.

“But we have to conduct chemical tests to identify the ingredients used in making the bomb”, said an official of the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL).

The CID, investigating the serial blasts, could not make any headway so far. The sleuths are now checking all incoming and outgoing mobile calls prior to the serial blasts.

The outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) has strongly denied its link with the Wednesday’s serial blasts leaving at least 70 people injured. In a press release, it condemned the attack and demanded punishment of bringing all culprits.

Meanwhile, the recovery of the live bomb has cast a pall of gloom and uncertainty over Durga puja festivity. As in previous years, large number of Agartala residents have booked cars and auto rickshaws for night long sojourn in and around the capital town for pandal-hopping. But the bomb has cast a dark shadow over the festivity. source: assam tribune

Durga Puja Agartala Durga Puja Tripura Durga Puja

Home adviser alarmed at crime spiral

Staff Correspondent

The home ministry yesterday directed the law enforcement agencies to take 'toughest action' against criminals to improve law and order.

The directive followed a special meeting on law and order chaired by the home adviser.

"From tomorrow (today), toughest action will be taken against criminals and, if necessary, they will be lifted and detained," Home Adviser Maj General (retd) MA Matin told reporters.

The meeting was held at the home ministry in the wake of snatching of Tk 46 lakh by shooting an assistant manager of ACI group on Gulshan Link Road on Sunday and gunning down of a garments factory owner at Kakrail in the capital yesterday.

Besides, snatchers strangled two persons to death at Kafrul and Agargaon yesterday.

The home adviser said law and order marked an improvement after the caretaker government took over but now it is deteriorating.

Replying to a question, he said one of the reasons behind the rise in criminal activities might be that criminals are coming out of their hideouts ahead of the Eid, Durga Puja and upcoming elections.

He told another questioner that the law enforcement agencies have been equipped to tackle any situation when the state of emergency is relaxed.

“I don't think that law and order will deteriorate after relaxation of the Emergency Power Rules.”

Meeting sources said some 6,000 law enforcers, 4,000 of them police, have been deployed in the capital to ensure smooth celebration of the Eid-ul-Fitr and Durga Puja -- the biggest religious festivals of the Muslims and the Hindus.

The home adviser also asked the law enforcers to beef up security measures at bus and launch terminals and railway stations to ensure safety of home-bound people.

The meeting was attended by Home Secretary Abdul Karim, Additional Inspector General of Police NBK Tripura, DMP Commissioner Naim Ahmed, Special Branch chief Baharul Alam and Rab Additional Director General Col Gulzar Uddin Ahmed. source: The Daily Star

AAI begins renovation of Agartala airport

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From Our Correspondent AGARTALA, July 14 – The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has initiated the process to build extra facilities in the Agartala airport and renovate Kamalpur airport to boost the much needed air connectivity in Trtpura.As part of infrastructure building, four more aprons would soon be constructed in addition to the existing four to increase the space for aircraft parking with loading and unloading facility.However, there is no plan to increase the runway length in the Agartala Airport as the existing one is sufficient to provide landing and taking off facilities to big aircrafts like Airbus 380, said RC Das, Director of Agartala Airport.“Renovation of existing runway in the Agartala Airport has already started and will not take much tome to complete the work”, he said.According to him, lighting and signalling system in the airport would be modernized and other facilities relating to night landing would be increased and two more hangars would be constructed near the tarmac for keeping the aircraft at night. There is only one hangar at present.He said that renovation work in abandoned Kamalpur Airport would begin within this month. “ An expert team from Kolkata had visited the Airport twice to start the renovation work”, he said.The abandoned airport has 4,500 feet runway and this could be able to provide landing and take off facility to small aircraft like ATR.“Efforts will be made to resume ATR service from Agartala to Kamalpur”, he added. However, if the proposed airline comes up in the region, traffic at Agartala Airport would increase. source: assam tribune

Bamboo flowering leaves mill starving

June 30: The flowering of bamboo groves in Mizoram has raised fears of a sharp dip in output at the Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd, which is just back on its feet after a blaze.

After lying defunct for nearly a month following a fire at its digester machine room, the paper mill at Panchgram became operational last week.

But chief executive officer Mohan Jha’s pressing concern now is the shrinking supply of raw materials, which could land the Rs 387-crore enterprise in trouble again.

The paper mill with a capacity of 1 lakh tonne annual output, gets its supply mainly from North Cachar Hills and Mizoram.

With the once-in-50-years phenomenon of bamboo flowering destroying groves, the Panchgram paper mill cannot hope for a steady supply for the next few months.

“The little stock left in Mizoram cannot be transported to Panchgram through National Highway 53 because of the pitiable condition of the roads leading to the highway,” Jha said.

Adding to his woes is the failure of bamboo suppliers in the Barak Valley to ensure regular supply of bamboo stock from Cachar and Tripura.

Jha is now hoping that a good monsoon will feed the rivers in Mizoram and facilitate transportation through the waterways.

Union heavy industries and public enterprises minister Sontosh Mohan Dev, too, is worried over the condition of HPC’s Panchgram plant.

On June 20, the legislator from Cachar held a meeting at his Delhi office to end the stalemate at the Panchgram unit of the mill.

Top officials of the HPC and the executive councillors of the North Cachar Autonomous District Council attended the brainstorming exercise in Delhi’s Yodyag Bhavan.

SOURCE: TELEGRAPH INDIA

Tripura ONGC rapped

Agartala, June 29: The Tripura unit of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and the state government appeared to be on a collision course with industries minister Jiten Chowdhury launching a thinly-veiled attack on the corporation for its failure to increase the production of natural gas.

“The natural gas being produced in the state is not enough to meet the requirements for upcoming projects and new industries. We have approached the Centre to raise the investment, manpower and infrastructure for increased production,” said Chowdhury, on the concluding day of the budget session on Friday.

Replying to a call-attention motion, the minister said talks were on with the ONGC as the demand for natural gas had registered a steep rise.

He said at a high-level meeting held in 1997, the ONGC authorities had assured the government that the production of natural gas would rise from 4.5 million cubic metres to 8 million cubic metres daily by the end of the Tenth Five Year Plan in March 2007.

“But subsequently, the ONGC authorities had presented statistics showing a decrease in the production,” said Chowdhury.

The ONGC authorities had informed the state government in February last year that it was not even in a position to fully supply the 1.78 cubic metres of gas allotted by the Union petroleum ministry to different projects in Tripura.

The authorities also said they would be able to maintain the supply of 1.5 cubic metres of natural gas to the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL).

“Recently, the ONGC authorities have told us that by 2012-2013 they would be able to raise the production of natural gas to keep the ONGC’s Palatana thermal power project, Neepco’s Monarchak thermal project and the Rookhia and Barmura thermal plants well supplied,” said Chowdhury.

He told the House that at present, ONGC was carrying out explorations on 6,691 square km of land and GAIL is exploring 1,680 square km in collaboration with Jubilant Oil and Gas in the state.

“Unless the exploration ends on a successful note, the supply will not improve,” he added.
Chowdhury said the Union ministry of oil and natural gas generally determined the price of gas but in Tripura, ONGC had set four separate rates.

“We have brought this to the notice of the Union ministry of oil and natural gas and requested for a price revision, considering the socio-economic position of the northeastern states,” he said.
He added that the state government was awaiting a positive response from the Union ministry.

source: telegraph india

Northeast Echoes

Peace as a political tool
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi’s cup of woes seems to be overflowing with conflicts on so many fronts. The resurgence of Bodo militancy after a lull has only sharpened the contours of conflict in Assam. It was not at all pleasing to the ears to hear two prominent leaders of the Bodo people, publicly trade charges at one another.

Supporters of Hagrama Mohilary accused U.G. Brahma of masterminding the fratricidal killings in Bodoland. Brahma threw back each allegation at his detractors. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Bodos are a culturally superior race with a history of civilisation that is longer than most of the other tribes in the Northeast.

How a group that is culturally and intellectually endowed could be subsumed and pushed to the fringes of development is a historical aberration that can only be revisited with much anguish and a sense of loss of something irretrievable.

Historically, the living space of the Bodos comprises nearly one-third of Assam. But in terms of development what is euphemistically referred to as “Bodoland” remains a laggard. The creation of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) was a temporary palliative. As always the beneficiaries of such political endowments are the leaders of the movements and their kin. The rest of the Bodo people have remained at the subsistence level. For them a BTC or a state government are one and the same.

Co-existence
At one conference attended by Bodo women, one was surprised to learn that the Bodos living along the borders of Bhutan get their electricity from that country. They earn their livelihood across the border and depend very little on Assam.

For them it is advantageous that India and Bhutan co-exist peacefully because any imbalance between the two as had happened during the Bhutanese operation against the Ulfa, tends to create a livelihood problem for them. As long as such simple folks continue with their economic pursuits and stay out of political discourses about their rights and the infringement of those rights, there will be a lid on political aspirations.

But history is a grim reminder that marginalised groups do tend to seek their place in the sun sooner than later. It is evident that several Bodo people are dissatisfied with the BTC. They do not see the council as an answer to their development backlogs.

The BTC we are told has failed to live up to the expectations of the hoi-polloi. There is allegedly no system of financial accountability and this is the crux of the matter. When people ask for greater autonomy for themselves what the leaders are actually asking for is more money to play around with. It is so easy to forget “the people” in whose names armed struggles were raised and whose blood was shed for the cause.

In cold blood
Besides the current blood-letting in Bodoland which has yet to raise the temperature in Dispur, the other battlefront that could spoil Tarun Gogoi’s sleep is the Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) led by Jewel Gorlosa. This group is known to be mentored by the NSCN (I-M) and therefore as unscrupulous in its operations. Recently, the DHD (J) killed a dozen truck drivers who were on routine trips through North Cachar Hills to the Barak valley and beyond carrying food supplies.
The manner in which the drivers were shot in cold blood and at point blank range is reminiscent of the cruelties of the Gestapo. The DHD (J) then attacked the railway employees who were merely carrying out their duties. As a consequence the rail authorities suspended their work and trucks refused to move.

The repercussions were felt in Mizoram and Tripura whose foodgrain quota was dwindling by the day.

Having carried out their horrific massacre the DHD (J) then calls a unilateral truce. This trigger-happy group probably woke up to the seriousness of the situation only belatedly when it began to affect their own people and a hue and cry was raised by the Dimasa people themselves.
Today there are over 40 companies of security forces posted in the North Cachar Hills, the largest ever for the smallest area. This became necessary in order to complete the railway gauge conversion and the trans-Asian highway.

The role of the NSCN (I-M), a group that is ostensibly on a truce with the Centre, but is providing the fuel to different armed groups across the region has not come in for close scrutiny. But things being so convoluted you can never be too sure as to who is fuelling what and under whose direction.

Be that as it may the Assam government is expected to have some plan of action to deal with groups like the DHD (J) which have assumed the characteristics of marauders.

If such groups are not put down with an iron hand one foresees many more splinters emerging each with its own ideology but all of them out to make a fast buck. The complete absence of the rule of law in North Cachar Hills, Karbi Anglong, and Bodoland can no longer be covered up.
The lawlessness in Assam has in fact reached such serious dimensions that even the state forests will now be guarded by the army. This is quite a telling account of the ground situation in that state.

All these are bad enough indications but what is worse is Tarun Gogoi’s proclivity to buy peace in instalments.

His government is all out to sign a truce with a faction of Ulfa whose cadres are faded and jaded and have lost their firepower. Normally, no armed group would sing the peace tune if it could still survive in the jungles. And the rule of the game is that talks are held only between equals.

Why should the state agree to a peace proposition from an ineffectual group? Unless of course there is an uncoded quid pro quo that the group will serve the political dispensation at Dispur in some strange way.

Ulfa on back foot
The argument that Ulfa has not killed anyone for months together and therefore deserves a chance at peace is specious. If Ulfa is on the back foot now it is only because they have run out of steam. At this juncture the outfit is in dire need of oxygen. If it is starved of it for some more time it might have to surrender. Hence the proposal to smoke the peace pipe.

If the Tarun Gogoi government succumbs as it appears to have done then the future of Assam will stand gravely compromised.

Non-resident Assamese are appalled by the number of bandhs calls, which have crippled particularly the tea industry. Any attempt to give Ulfa its much-needed time to regroup will spell disaster for Assam. It will also be the death knell to entrepreneurship and industry both of which are meant to trigger economic growth.

Alas. Politics pushes people to look for short-term gains and abandon any long-term policy for the common good.

(The author can be contacted at patricia17@rediffma il.com)

THE TELEGRAPH - JUNE 23, 2008

Tripura all-party team to visit Delhi for High Court

Tripura all-party team to visit Delhi for High Court

From Our Correspondent AGARTALA, May 10 – Alarmed at the spiralling number of pending cases in Tripura, the State Assembly today unanimously decided to send an all-party delegation to Delhi to push for setting up of a separate High Court in the State.Replying to a calling attention motion, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar informed the House that the State Government had been demanding for a full-fledged High Court for a long time.Sarkar said the State Government had also approached Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard explaining state’s need to have a High Court.He said that the government had already built a building for the High Court but the Central Government had not yet taken any positive step to set up the same.As of today, the number of pending cases in the State stands at 5,656, he said adding the State Government hopes the Union Government will take proper initiative to set up a full-fledged High Court.Opposition leader Ratan Lal Nath said there was an urgent need to send an all-party team to Delhi to pursue the legitimate demand. The Chief Minister readily accepted the proposal of the opposition leader.